PARIS: A Portuguese hacker whose bombshell revelations on the “FootballLeaks” website rocked European soccer was convicted Wednesday by a Paris court and given a suspended prison sentence of six months.
Rui Pinto accepted the sentence proposed by the public prosecutor for hacking into Paris Saint-Germain executives, French media reported. He was also ordered to pay one euro in damages to PSG, which had sued as a civil party, as well as 4,000 euros ($4,360) in legal costs.
The 35-year-old Pinto reportedly expressed his desire to cooperate with justice authorities in Europe and France’s financial prosecutor.
The Paris court ruling followed Pinto’s conviction in September by a Lisbon court of nine crimes. In that case, he was given a suspended prison sentence of four years.
Pinto’s disclosures embarrassed star players, top clubs and influential agents between 2015-18 and helped drive official investigations across Europe.
The website published information about the transfer fees and salaries of such stars as Neymar, then at Barcelona, Radamel Falcao at Monaco and Gareth Bale at Real Madrid. It also alleged that Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain flouted European soccer’s spending rules.
During his Paris trial, Pinto admitted that he illegally extracted data from the mailboxes belonging to PSG’s financial director, deputy general manager and a general management assistant, between 2015 and 2019, Le Parisien newspaper said.
“I accept the facts you accuse me of. I don’t see why we should prolong a trial any longer. I’ve already been in the middle of a judicial bureaucracy for five years in Portugal for facts that may be similar to those for which I’m here now,” he was quoted as saying.
After his arrest, Pinto spent 18 months in pre-trial detention in Lisbon, including seven months in isolation, before being released after starting to cooperate with Portuguese police and entering a witness protection program.
When he was extradited from Hungary, from where he hacked computers, to Portugal in 2015 to stand trial, Pinto was poised to enter a witness protection program in France, according to Pinto’s lawyers.
Pinto was granted amnesty for dozens of other crimes as part of a wider government decree giving pardons for lesser offenses that marked the visit to Portugal last month of Pope Francis.
In a second case against Pinto that still has to be tried, Portuguese prosecutors are accusing him of 377 hacking-related crimes.
That case could also take years to reach a verdict under the slow-moving Portuguese legal system.
Portuguese hacker in Football Leaks scandal handed 6-month suspended sentence by French court
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Portuguese hacker in Football Leaks scandal handed 6-month suspended sentence by French court
- Rui Pinto accepted the sentence proposed by the public prosecutor for hacking into PSG executives
- The 35-year-old reportedly expressed his desire to cooperate with justice authorities in Europe and France’s financial prosecutor
Marmoush, Salah strike as Egypt edge out holders Ivory Coast in quarter-final
- Egypt wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute
- That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance
AGADIR, Morocco: Omar Marmoush netted the opener and Mohamed Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt ended Ivory Coast’s reign with a narrow 3-2 triumph in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final.
Center back Rami Rabia was the other scorer for the Egyptians, who had little possession at the Grande Stade Agadir but took their chances with clinical precision and held on grimly to book a semifinal meeting with Senegal on Wednesday.
An own goal from Ahmed Fatouh and a late effort by Guela Doue proved insufficient for the Ivory Coast, winners of the tournament on home soil two years ago but now deposed as African champions.
Egypt, who have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, wasted little time in taking the lead as Marmoush scored in the fourth minute after Hamdi Fathy pinched the ball from Franck Kessie in the midfield, allowing Emam Ashour to thread a pinpoint ball to the sprinting Marmoush. He still needed to shrug off the attentions of defender Odilon Kossounou before slotting home.
But it quickly became clear the Ivorians were going to dominate possession, showing much more physical strength on the ball but without setting up clear chances.
Egypt went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute when Rabia rose above the defenders to head his side further ahead from a corner.
The Ivory Coast, who had 70 percent of possession in the first half, reduced the deficit eight minutes later when teenager Yann Diomande’s freekick near the corner took a slight brush off Kossounou’s head and ricocheted off the knee of full back Fatouh and into the net.
SALAH FINISHED OFF CLEVER MOVE
The Ivorians had come from 2-0 down to beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in the tournament but hopes of turning the scoreline around soon after the re-start were stymied by a simply created, but superbly finished, goal for Salah seven minutes after the break.
Rabia was well inside his own half when he chipped the ball over the top of the Ivorian defensive line, allowing Ashour to run onto it and hit an accurate pass with the outside of his right boot into the path of Salah to score.
An Ivorian comeback was still on when Doue touched home at the end of a goalmouth scramble in the 73rd minute.
That set up a siege of the Egyptian goal in the final 15 minutes but they held out to advance.
Earlier on Saturday, Nigeria overpowered Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech and will take on hosts Morocco in the other semifinal.
